The $279 million deal is financed through a privately- placed two-tranche loan structure which gives investors a right to 30% of any future equity upside.

Merrill Lynch has completed another privately placed off-market investment banking transaction in the form of a $279 million buyout of IndonesiaÆs fourth largest coal miner, Berau Coal. The acquisition is financed through a two-tranche high-yielding loan that was said to have attracted just under 10 investors.

The highly complex transaction, which is believed to be the first private sector unlisted buyout involving multiple investors in Southeast Asia, centres on the clean-up of a messy ownership structure. The aim is to...